I have been asking many priests and bishops to read Eccles Is Saved, the blog run by the Catholic Church's resident satirist. I send them links to his blog posts. I keep meaning to ask Eccles how many hits he gets from Rome each day...

One of the shepherds asked me if Eccles was 'a contender' for my affections. Ha, ha! The simple answer is no. But it's time to 'fess up and blush 'till my cheeks go postbox red. When I first started reading Eccles' blog - I thought he was a witty (and single) young man. So, that explains the time that I joked on Twitter about throwing pebbles at his window.

Now, I realise that Eccles ain't available, and even if he was, his hands are full with Anti-Moly and Bosco.

Yesterday, courtesy of Twitter, I learned that Eccles is poorly and suffering a bout of ill health! We must fly to his aid!

It's
time to give back. We've enjoyed many a good laugh reading Eccles'
blog, and now we can return the favour by praying …

The truism that “the past is a foreign country, they do things
differently there” is very apt when you compare Ireland of the 1950s to
the present-day. Bishop-elect Kevin Doran was born in June
1953 in a Dublin that was poles apart from modern Ireland. In the 1950s,
the majority of Dubliners attended Sunday Mass. A 2011 poll showed a
mere 14 per cent observed the Sabbath in the Dublin area. In
the Ireland of Fr Doran’s youth, people were more likely to accept the
authority of bishops. Fr Doran, who will be ordained a bishop on July
13, will exercise his ministry in a Church in which bishops have to earn
respect and trust, and in a society in which, for many, his ministry
will not be regarded as particularly relevant. Pope Francis has
appointed him to the rural Diocese of Elphin, which has 37 parishes, 90
churches and a population of 70,000. Fr Doran was raised in
the seaside area of Dún Laoghaire. The eldest child of middle-class
Dubliners Joseph and Marie Doran, he has…

Fifty years have passed since 1964, when Padre Pio was freed from certain tight constraints that bound him.

The humble Italian friar had been blessed with supernatural gifts
such as reading souls, hearts and minds, and also phenomenal
intercessory powers such as interceding for the sick so that they
obtained miraculous cures from God. But in 1960 Padre Pio’s ministry was
seriously limited following a strange series of events.

I find it dangerous for my stress levels to reflect on the way it was
started by his fellow friars attempting to manipulate him. A very
divisive issue was the money poured into the hospital, which Padre Pio
had founded, the House for the Relief of Suffering.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds were donated for the construction of
the hospital. Excited by the idea of making quick cash, Padre Pio’s
superiors asked him if they could use the donations for a get-rich-quick
scheme. Padre Pio refused because the money did not belong to him. When
they lost huge sums …

I was born in the mountains of West Cork, Ireland, surrounded by forested slopes and woodlands that filter the natural light until it is a golden glow. For seven years, I have made my home in the heart of bustling London: here I am pursuing my vocation to be a writer and journalist. This is the life of a contemporary Catholic Irishwoman in exile. I strive to attend Tridentine Mass as often as possible, and I pray to St Anthony daily.